Month: May 2024

The American Lung Association’s recently released “State of the Air” report finds that despite decades of progress cleaning up air pollution, 39% of people living in America – 131.2 million individuals – still live in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution. This is 11.7 million more people breathing unhealthy air compared to the years covered by the 2023 report (2019-2021), which reinforces the need to protect our local communities from the continued risks to public health resulting from of a combination of factors, including extreme heat, drought, wildfire smoke and more.

For the eighth consecutive year, St. Louis avoided being ranked among the top 25 most ozone-polluted U.S. cities, coming in at number 30 on the list out of 228 metropolitan areas. The region ranked 33^rd on the list for most polluted cities by annual particle pollution, which is back six spots from the previous year. The most current report findings have added to the evidence that a changing climate is making the job of cleaning up the air and protecting human health more difficult. High ozone days and spikes in particle pollution related to extreme heat, drought and wildfires are putting millions of people at risk and adding challenges to the work that states and cities are doing across the nation to clean up air pollution.

According to the 2024 report, exposure to unhealthy levels of ozone air pollution continues to make breathing difficult for more people across the country than any other single pollutant. For the three years covered in this year’s report (2020-2022), some 100.6 million people lived in the 125 counties in 26 states that earned an “F” grade for ozone, including St. Charles County in Missouri and Madison County in Illinois. This means that three of every 10 people – including 22.5 million infants and children, 15.5 million people age 65 or older and tens of millions in other groups at risk of health harm – are exposed to high levels of ozone on enough days to earn the air they breathe a failing grade.

While ozone air pollution remains a serious threat to public health, one trend continuing in a positive direction for the fourth consecutive report is the number of people living in counties with a failing grade for ozone that actually declined, this year by 2.4 million people. The long-term trend of improvement can be attributed to controls placed on emissions that have increasingly resulted in the replacement of more polluting engines, fuels and industrial processes nationwide.

For more on ways to do your share for cleaner air this summer and to stay alert about regional ozone pollution levels, sign up to receive the daily air quality forecasts at CleanAir-StLouis.com, like the Clean Air Partnership on Facebook, or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @gatewaycleanair.

To access the full 2024 “State of the Air” report, visit Lung.org.

StraightUp Solar is a ­­­Missouri and Illinois-based solar installation company that offers a full range of services from design-to-build (engineering, procurement, construction and installation) for solar systems, battery storage, smart panels and electric vehicle (EV) charging stations. Since 2006, the company has installed more than 2,800 residential and commercial-scale solar projects for customers who have reaped the benefits of saving money and supporting a healthier environment that features more natural, eco-friendly energy use. These efforts helped StraightUp Solar earn the esteemed title of St. Louis Green Business Challenge Champion in 2023, as the company was able to demonstrate their commitment to continued implementation of deeper sustainability strategies.

“The St. Louis Green Business Challenge network, webinars and events inspire us to examine our business operations and implement new sustainable alternatives,” said Eric Schneider, Director of Business Development for StraightUp Solar. “We are honored to join likeminded companies dedicated to reducing our environmental footprint to improve our communities.”

During the 2023 Challenge, StraightUp Solar’s headquarters in Maryland Heights produced 153 megawatt hours of solar energy, offsetting 66 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and recycled 55,000 pounds of solar panels, microinverters and other solar energy equipment. Within its own offices, the company committed to using only green cleaning products, refillable pens and pencils and recycled content paper for all business operations, in addition to having supplied organic fruit and snacks in the employee lunchroom. Additionally, 10 solar-powered EV charging stations were made open to the public at company headquarters.

Other impressive accomplishments included the company maintaining Benefit Corporation (B Corp) certification, which is unique in the business world because that means they place people and planet above profit and commit to high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Consequently, the company has continued operating under a hybrid office model to reduce harmful automobile emissions from commuting, which greatly impacts air quality!

To reinforce its values of advocating for solar energy and educating the community about sustainable practices for a healthier future, StraightUp Solar provided hands-on solar training to K–12 educators in Southern Illinois and partnered with Employment Connections for a Solar 101 workforce training class. Last but not least, the company also sponsored earthday 365 Environmental Days of Justice, Forest ReLeaf Arbormeisters, ParkLands Foundation and Southern Illinois University Sustainability.

For more information about StraightUp Solar and how your company can get involved in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, subscribe to the Challenge’s bi-monthly E-Newsletter or visit stlouisgreenchallenge.com. To learn more about the link between sustainability and air quality, explore the Clean Air Partnership’s website, like us on Facebook or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @gatewaycleanair.

ESCO Technologies, headquartered in St. Louis, is a global provider of highly engineered products and solutions to diverse and growing end-markets that include the defense, aerospace, space, wireless, consumer electronics, healthcare, automotive, electric utility and renewable energy industries. The company consists of three technology-driven business segments – Aerospace & Defense, Utility Solutions Group and RF Test & Measurement. This month, the Clean Air Partnership is pleased to recognize ESCO Technologies for its responsibilities to mitigate environmental impact, protect its workers, improve the supply chain and enhance the communities they serve, all of which earned them recognition in the 2023 St. Louis Green Business Challenge at the Leader Level.

“Participating in the Challenge for the second year helped us find additional ways we can make ESCO and our employees more sustainable,” said Justin Prien, ESCO Technologies Director of Environmental Health and Safety. “We look forward to next year’s Challenge to help us further reduce our environmental footprint and benefit the communities where we operate.”

During the 2023 Challenge, ESCO Technologies participated in Operation Clean Stream at Castlewood State Park – one of the country’s most significant and longest-running river restoration projects – to encourage community engagement and conservation. To spark further engagement in sustainability efforts, the company gave all its employees native wildflowers, LED light bulbs and reusable cutlery sets for Earth Day and shared the many benefits of planting native plants, conserving energy with LED light bulbs and moving away from disposable cutlery. Additionally, ESCO Technologies created an internal SharePoint site for employees to access information on the company’s eco-conscious business practices and how to become more sustainable at both work and at home.

Other noteworthy accomplishments that helped earn them recognition in the Challenge include the implementation of a K-Cup recycling program that collected 79 pounds of used product, as well as newly installed water bottle filling stations that saved a total of 7,649 plastic water bottles. ESCO Technologies also published its 2022 Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) report and began reporting on hazardous waste generation as a part of the company’s environmental footprint metrics. The data showed reduced carbon intensity from 20.0 to 18.3 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MTCO2e) per million dollars of revenue, from 2021 to 2022. This unit of measurement is used to compare the environmental impact and global warming potential of different greenhouse gases.

For more information on ESCO Technologies and how your company can get involved in the St. Louis Green Business Challenge, subscribe to the Challenge’s bi-monthly E-Newsletter or visit stlouisgreenchallenge.com. To learn more about the link between sustainability and air quality, explore the Clean Air Partnership’s website, like us on Facebook or follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @gatewaycleanair.

Air quality forecasting made its return to the region on May 1st, and the ozone season is kicking off with a reminder that the importance of keeping the air we breathe clean is at an all-time high. Millions of people living in America – including those that fall within the bi-state region’s non-attainment area – reside in communities impacted by unhealthy levels of air pollution in the form of high ozone days and increased levels of particulate matter more than ever before.  

“As we prepare to settle into the summer months when we’re at greater risk for poor air quality, the Clean Air Partnership urges area residents to continue their efforts to take voluntary steps to reduce emissions,” said Susannah Fuchs, Director of Clean Air for the American Lung Association in Missouri. “Those actions play a critical role in improving air quality conditions and helping people across the region breathe easier, which is especially important for sensitive populations like pregnant people, children, anyone 65 and older, people with existing lung diseases such as asthma and COPD, and those who work or exercise outdoors.” 

Since transportation has long been reported to have the most profound impact on air quality, making the choice to spend less time behind the wheel is an easy way to reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Actions like using transit, carpooling and vanpooling, combining errands into a single trip, telecommuting, and walking and biking more to get around town all help take cars off area roads and keep related emissions out of our air. There are also many other eco-friendly lifestyle changes unrelated to commuting that individuals and businesses can consider to positively impact air quality and improve lung health, including efforts to conserve energy, recycle, reduce waste, reuse items and more.

During the forecasting season, the Partnership ramps up its efforts to inform area residents about ozone pollution levels in the region and how those levels can affect their health by releasing color-coded, daily air quality forecasts to let people know what the next day’s air quality is forecast to be and if they should alter their outdoor activities to minimize exposure to polluted air. This is especially crucial on orange or red days, which we saw an excess of this past year. Individuals can now sign up to receive the daily forecast via their email inboxes or text through the Environmental Protection Agency’s EnviroFlash air quality alert system by visiting CleanAir-StLouis.com. There, they can also access a wealth of air quality information and tips to do their share for cleaner air all summer long.

Additional air quality information and the daily forecast can be accessed by liking the Clean Air Partnership on Facebook, or by following the organization on X, formerly known as Twitter, @gatewaycleanair.